Hands To The Wind
by Xandra J
Summary: "Okay, so maybe I'm not the mutant freak you expected to see, but I'm still part of the Flock. Why? Coincidence. Yeah. Lady Luck ain't the greatest, but...well, what can I do about it now?" Iggy/OC, some Max/Fang. Starts during book 3.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, this was just random inspiration, like a lot of my stories. I'm not sure how long this is going to be, or even if I'm going to continue it. This is set during book…three, I believe it was, when the Flock was split up. I'm not sure. I need to listen/read them again. *sweatdrop***

**Disclaimer: I only own my character(s). Nothing else. All the original cannon characters of the Maximum Ride series belongs to James Patterson. I make no profit from this story. This applies to all chapters to follow. Any works **_**within**_** the framework of the story, however, belong either to me, or their respective owners as noted.**

Chapter One 

"Mom! I'm home!" I called as I entered the house, throwing my bag to one side and wiping my sweaty blonde hair back from my face. Outside, my bike leaned against the fence, deceivingly relaxed looking, since it was chained up. I used it every day, during the summer. And I mean _every _day. I would bike to my friend's house and then from there, we'd bike into the city, and screw around. Then we'd head home.

"Alex!" My mom yelled from the kitchen as I flew down the hall. "You're late!"

"I told you I would be!" I called back, not slowing. "The movie ran late!" Today, my friend Cassie and I biked to the movie theater in the city and saw Despicable Me. You've seen the commercials – the one with the little girl holding the unicorn that screams, "IT'S SO FLUFFY!" Yeah. That movie.

"Welcome home, Alex!" Yelled my brother, Liam, from upstairs. Oh crap. I could hear his feet on the stairs. It was a race now, as I darted toward the bathroom, trying to beat him there. It was one of maybe two or three breaks he'd take from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare today. He was seventeen, three years older than me, and if my mom started buying him Depends, we'd never see him.

"Ha!" I yelled triumphantly, slamming the door and nearly catching his hand.

"Dammit, Alex!" He yelled angrily, and I laughed. "Go use the other bathroom! This is the only one with a shower, unless you want me to stink up the whole house because _you_ had to piss!"

He grumbled an ascent, before stalking off. Now that I had the bathroom to myself, I turned on the water in the shower and stripped down. My cut-off shorts were still clean, so I set them on the counter, while everything else – all soaked in sweat – went into the hamper. Once the water was comfortable, I stepped in and washed the sweat from my body. I shampooed my short hair, taking several minutes to get it all out of the thick curls, before I finally got out.

I kept all my clothes in the bathroom, since, with all the biking I did, I took a shower every day anyway. Once I was mostly dry – even with a blow dryer, my hair would take at least twenty more minutes to dry – I changed into my bikini. I pulled the same cutoff shorts over the bottoms and a white tank top over the top.

Of course, when your bikini is black and silver with bright neon stripes and splashes, it's hard to hide with a white tank top. For a while, I got crap about the fact that across the breast of the top, over and over in tiny writing, it says 'beach bunny', but not any more. My friends only notice the neon, and now they actually think it's pretty cool.

I'm not a beach bunny. The only beach within five hours of my house is Clear Lake, and beyond that are only the Great Lakes. Sigh. In case the mention of the "Great Lakes" wasn't enough of a giveaway, I live in Wisconsin. Lake Michigan to one side, Lake Superior to another, the Mississippi River on the West, and countless lakes and rivers scattered throughout the state. Yeah, we have a lot of water. No oceans though. No real beaches.

But for me and my friends, Clear Lake in July is close enough. So, that's where my mom is taking me. It's almost an hour away, so no biking there, plus, drivers on Wisconsin Highways are assholes. After running a brush through my hair, I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Mom! I'm ready to go whenever you are!" I yelled. She stepped out of the kitchen and looked at me. In one hand was a picnic basket that I knew from past experience was filled with plastic plates and cups, booze for the adults, raw asparagus for the grill, and uncooked burgers and hot dogs.

"All right." She said, before making her way to the stairs. "LIAM!" She shrieked up the stairs. "You're coming with us! Now!" I heard his annoyed groan, then the stairs creaking as he made his way down again.

We made our way out to the car and piled in, Liam taking shotgun – at which I stuck my tongue out at him. Then, Mom put the car in reverse, pulled down the driveway, and we were off.

When we got to Clear Lake, it was packed. One, it was a Saturday. Two, it had to be at least ninety degrees out. Of course it would be packed. But our area wasn't. My friends and I like to hang out on the other side of the lake, by the rope swing and the party barge. People came over occasionally, but for the most part, it was just us.

I got out of the car when it stopped, and was almost immediately engulfed in a hug from my friend Morgan. Her sister was already in the water, along with most of my other friends. Her older brother, the same age as Liam, was standing on the dock by the party barge, throwing a Frisbee. Liam got out of the car and went to stand by him.

Morgan grabbed my hand and hauled me over. I managed to pull her to a stop before we actually got to the water and remove what little clothing I was actually wearing. Cassie wolf-whistled jokingly and we all giggled.

I ran toward the dock, past Liam and Morgan's brother, Jake, and leapt into the water. It was cold, but against the hot sun above us, it felt great. We Jake threw the Frisbee as hard as he could, and I leapt out of the water, managing to get out to my knees, before I snagged the Frisbee out of the air and threw it back. Liam caught it by the tips of his fingers and swirled it, before throwing it out again.

We sort of have this running joke with Liam, where he claims to be Jesus. This time though, it's Jake that whips it back out, nearly perfectly, after Cassie throws it hard – and slightly wobbly – toward his…other head.

"Oh yes!" He yells, throwing the Frisbee toward his sister. "I am Jesus!"

"No way!" Liam countered. "Haven't you heard? That's me!"

"There's two Jesuses?" laughed Cara, Morgan's sister – Jake's other one, that he threw the Frisbee to.

"Would it be Jesuses or Jesi?" Cassie asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she chucked the Frisbee to me.

"I think that would be Jesi." I agreed, throwing the disc as hard as I could at Liam. It hit him in the leg and he toppled of the dock and into the water. _Everyone_ laughed.

"You disgraced Jesus!" Yelled Cassie jokingly.

"'You disgrace Jesus!' says the Pagan!" I retorted.

As I watched the banter continue, my eyes strayed away from the group to three boys sitting on the bank. One had very dark hair and olive skin that looked a lot like Morgan's, Jake's and Cara's. He was bent over a map with a small blonde boy who couldn't be more than eight or nine. Finally, my eyes fell on the boy with the red hair. His limbs were long and lanky and despite the baking sun, his skin was ghostly pale. But what caught my attention was that although he seemed to be listening hard to what the boy with the dark hair was saying, he was gazing off into space. I knew that look. It was the same look my grandmother had when we went to visit her. The boy was blind.

Of course, I lost my sympathy quickly, when I heard him whispering to the other boy. "_Come on! You gave me virtually _nothing_ in California! There _have_ to be girls here!_" I let out a low growl and looked over at Cassie. She had better hearing than me, and looked equally pissed.

But I waved her away. I'd deal with the sexist blind guy by myself. I flipped onto my back and paddled toward them. Before long, I was mostly out of the water, and I could hear the other boy whispering back, as the younger one now played in the shallows. Good. At least they weren't polluting his mind too.

"_Really, Ig, there's not much to describe. They're not ugly, but there're not like the girls in Cali either._" I wasn't within kicking distance yet, but if I'd brought one of the slash balls, I could hit them easily, and pretty hard. Then I felt the dark boy's eyes on me. Oh wow. His eyes are just about as dark as his hair. "_Oh, there's this one girl headed this way. She's pretty tall – taller than Max – and she's got short hair. She's pretty skinny, but not, like…unhealthy skinny. More like athletic._" Then I heard him give a quiet laugh. "_Oh man, you'll love it. Her swimsuit actually _says_ 'beach bunny' on it._"

More quiet laughter, but it cut off as soon as I stepped out of the lake. The blind boy – 'Ig', presumably – was a little red, and I'd bet money that it _wasn't_ from the sun.

"_She's closer, isn't she, Fang?_" I heard him whisper. Then, something clicked in my mind, and I stopped dead. 'Ig' was short for 'Iggy'. He was blind. And Fang – tall and dark. This was the 'Fang' that I read about online, the one with the blog, "Fly On".

My throat closed. I could see it now that I was closer – the awkward way both Fang and Iggy were sitting against the back of the bench. The map. These were the winged kids. 

**Oy, that ending wasn't the best, but if I hadn't ended it there, it would have been way longer. And I mean **_**way**_** , review! **=D**  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'd like to credit my totally awesome Beta-reader in this - percabethatw. Ironically, I didn't actually send this chapter to her, because since my power - and consequentially, my internet - went out last night, I was already late in getting this up. **

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

My mouth was agape. Half of the _Flock_ – the honest to god _Flock_ – was right in front of me. I didn't know where Max and the rest of them were, but, right now...? Well, I didn't really care. I know – I'm mean, but personally, I think three bird kids are enough to deal with.

But now...how to approach them? I'd seen Fang's responses to the comments offering help – he probably wouldn't be willing to take any help, and, hell, for all I knew, he'd deny who he was. True, I didn't even know for sure who he was, but I knew. I don't know how I knew – I just did.

"_Why's she stopped?_" I heard Iggy ask. I saw Fang shake his head.

"_I don't know. Wait...I remember something. She looks _insanely_ familiar. Oh! I remember! She's one of the people following my blog._" I could see on his face that he knew this wasn't a good thing.

"_So she's one of your cult followers?_" Iggy asked, his tone joking. Great. He knew who I was. Hmph.

"_Actually, she's not as bad as most of them._" I'm not? "_She doesn't ask stuff like if I have a girlfriend, or when me and Max are getting married-_" Iggy gave a little choking laughter at that. Guess he hadn't been told about that particular comment. "_She gives legit responses and asks real questions. I think her name is Alex, or something like tha-_"

"Um, you guys know I can hear you, right?" I called, and they both jumped. Apparently, they hadn't known. "So," I continued, lowering my voice so the others wouldn't hear. "I ask legit questions? I hadn't realised that." Fang smiled a little – I'll bet it was involuntary. I could hear the other's laughing and whispering. "Also, I suggest moving. Preferably behind a tree or something, because if you sit here much longer, my friends are going to start telling you to get in the water.

At this, I saw the younger boy – Gazzy, I guessed – looked up at that. "Oh, you guys should!" he said excitedly, coming closer, making little dark spots on the sand with the drops coming off his shorts and his wet foot prints. I glanced over at him. Didn't he get that was a bad idea?

"That might not be the best idea, Gazzy." Fang said, shaking his head. Gazzy frowned.

"Why not?" He asked, his eyes wide. The phrase 'Bambi eyes' came to mind.

"Because they'll think we're even weirder if we get in the lake with our _shirts_ on, and if we take our shirts off, they'll see the wings. Both options are bad." Fang explained. I nodded.

Then Gazzy pointed at _me_. "But she knows!" He said, frustrated now.

I sighed a little. "He has a point." I agreed. "Plus, let's face it guys, this is a lot more remote than _California_, and you guys were willing to reveal yourselves there. Word is a lot less likely to get out from here than Cali."

As if on cue, I heard Morgan yell out to us – well, them. "You gotta be kidding me!" She laughed. "You guys have to get in the water!"

"Yeah!" Cassie yelled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "It's not even cold! Get your butts in here!"

I said nothing, but looked back at Fang as if to say, "_I told you so._" He sighed and looked between me, then the teenagers in the water, then Gazzy. He sighed again. "Fiiiiiine..." He said, dragging the word out. He looked at me. "You sure they won't, like, try to shoot us or something?"

I shook my head. "No way," I said. "They read your blog too. I'm honestly surprised none of them realised it yet. And besides, Clear Lake park doesn't allow guns." I grinned, Iggy laughed, and Fang smiled a little, but looked unsure if I was joking or not. But they were committed now – all the girls were hooting and whistling, and the boys were yelling and calling them names jokingly.

Fang stood and tapped Iggy's hand, telling him to do the same. Then, both removed their shirts. Behind me, I heard Cassie wolf-whistle. Fang started to wade in, and I shook my head. "Oh hell no." I said. "You aren't _wading_. You're jumping off the dock with me!" I grabbed his elbow and pushed him ahead of me as I started toward the dock. He sent a glare at me, but now he was out there, once again, his choices were limited.

I gave him another push – noticing with a small jolt the black feathers now under my fingers – and he started to run. He launched himself off the dock, but didn't open his wings. Instead, his momentum carried him at least twenty feet before he started to descend. He was at least fifty feet over the drop-off before he actually hit the water. When he came back up, he spouted water and even grinned a little at the applause my friends were giving him.

I looked at Iggy. "Your turn!" I crowed. He looked a little paler than normal.

"You know I can't _see_." He pointed out. "What if I hit someone?"

"You don't have to launch like Fang did. Here," I said and grabbed his hand. "Just jump when I tell you. Don't push off hard, just jump. They'll get out of the way."

He nodded and his hand tightened nervously around mine. I grinned and started jogging, then running, Iggy beside me. We were about a foot from the end when I yelled, "Jump!" And pushed off from the edge. Iggy had jumped.

We didn't go far – you never really do when you jump with someone else, but I stayed attached to his hand as we both floundered for a moment, trying to get our bearings, before I discovered which way was up, and began to pull him. When we came up, he was grinning wildly. "Worth it?" I asked under my breath, as the others cheered our jump.

His grin widened. "Totally," He said, before I heard Kiera, one of my younger friends, cry out.

"Oh my god!" She said. "What's that on your back?"

I closed my eyes. Truthfully, they probably would have figured it out eventually, but really, did she have to _yell_? I saw everyone turn toward me and Iggy. His face was flushed, and I thought if his grip on my hand tightened much more, he'd be breaking a few bones.

"What'd you say your name was?" Cara asked, frowning suspiciously.

"I didn't." Iggy said. He looked in Fang's direction, and as if on cue, he took up what Iggy probably hadn't been sure about saying.

The attention turned to him, now, as he said. "My name is Fang. That's Iggy, and the younger kid up there," He gestured toward Gazzy, splashing in the shallows with the kids his age, "is the Gasman. I probably don't need to tell you that we're the Flock that you read about online."

I heard exclamations of surprise, shock, delight, confusion, and everything in between. I thought Iggy might have actually been breaking bones with how tightly he was clutching my hands. That's when I realised it – between the noise around us and the sounds of the water, and the fact that, under the water, he couldn't hear people's footsteps, he really had no idea where he was. I returned the pressure on his hand. Not the nervous, finger breaking tension he was exuding, but a comforting, friendly gesture that meant I'd help him. And his grip loosened somewhat.

"So..." Cassie began. "You're actually serious?" Fang nodded. Cassie seemed to pause for a moment, then her face broke into a wide grin and she laughed aloud. "I cannot even begin to tell you how impossibly _awesome_ that is!" She said, still laughing.

And I felt myself let out a breath of relief. She didn't try to attack him, or question him, or scream. Really, I thought, I should have had more faith in her. As insane as she is, Cassie's always been better at taking shocking news better than the rest of them.

Kiera's reaction came next. Her expression still read as shock, but she seemed to be mostly recovered, when she put in her oh, so _eloquent_ take on what was happening. "Hell yeah it's awesome!"

I hadn't realised it, but I'd been holding my breath. Cassie I'd known would accept it – she's practically my sister. But as soon as someone else accepted it, I knew the rest would follow. And I was right. The next few exclamations ranged from Lucas, who high fived Iggy and Fang and told them he couldn't believe he was actually meeting them, to Cara, launching herself at Fang, nearly pushing him under water and laughing hysterically. He sent me a pleading look and I shook my head, also laughing.

"There's nothing I can do! She's always like tha- EEE!"

That last exclamation was due to the fact that Iggy and Lucas had been plotting against me. They'd both lifted me up on their shoulders and began walking deeper. "You assholes!" I shrieked, trying to pull my legs free from their grasp without tipping backward and drowning myself. Too late. We were out deep now – too deep for me to touch. Of course, Luke and Iggy were both insanely tall, and still had their heads, necks and shoulders above the water. "Guys!" I yelled, about to tell them to put me down, but it was too late for that.

"One..." Lucas began.

Iggy looked smug. "Two." He said.

"Three." They finished together, and shoved me upward and away from them. I let out a short scream as I fell through the air, then I realised what was happening and clamped my mouth shut just in time – because I hit the water, hard.

It took only a few seconds for me to get my bearings in the deep water and start toward the group again. I didn't come back up immediately, though. Instead, I opened my eyes underwater and swam back to the group like that. Man...Clear Lake ain't all that clear. Eh-hem. Anywhoo...

I was right behind Iggy when I came up. Like, literally, right behind. I think my forehead might have grazed his back. Needless to say, he jumped half way out of the water when I popped up and began to cling to his back. He began flailing around, trying to shake me off, but it was useless.

Lucas laughed. "Good luck, man!" He said, shaking his head like he was so superior to all this, when really he was actually _younger_ than almost all of us. "She's not coming off until she wants to come off. Trust me."

That didn't stop Iggy from trying, though. He tried going under water – I let go with my arms and kept my legs locked around his waist tightly (so tight, in fact, that when he came back up, he was breathless. He tried flipping backward – I released my arms and slid my legs up so they encircled his ribcage. I tried _really_ hard not to think about the proximity of his head to my cleavage. He tried going into shallower water and bucking me off. I only clung on tighter. Finally, he gave up and sagged in my grasp. The girls cheered and the boys made noises of disappointment. I hooted along with the rest of the girls, but only lifted one arm in triumph, the other still fastened securely around Iggy's shoulders. Unfortunately, it was enough. Iggy's back – and, slightly uncomfortable against my bare stomach, feathers – were wet and slick from the water, and only being hanging on with one arm, when he suddenly flipped up and dove under the water, my grip loosened enough trying to steady myself that he was able to throw my arm off. Then, mind you, I'm not sure how he did it, he slid his arms between my legs and his body, and – I'm not even kidding – _shed me off, like I was a shirt_.

"You jerk!" I yelled in mock anger when I surfaced again. He was laughing now, and high fived with Fang. _How the hell does he not miss_!

It was then that I noticed Cassie and Keira were missing. I looked around and spotted them at the same time that Fang did. They were way out in the water, way over the drop off...and I could tell immediately what they'd done. Fang, however, _couldn't_, and started to swim toward them.

"Um, Fang?" I called, "I don't recommend going out there!"

"Why?" He said, pausing and looking back at me. In answer, Cassie raised her arm and threw something. It landed with a _plop_ between Fang and I. It was her bikini bottoms. Fang reddened and choked a little. I only laughed.

"I'm not bringing that out to you!" I yelled. Cassie swore at me. I laughed and snagged the suit and began to swim, floating on my back, since I was faster that way. "You're really an idiot, you know." I said, treading water and handing it back to her.

She grinned at me. "I know. But you love me. So it's a non-issue."

I'd continue like this, but I'd probably either bore you or make you jealous. Suffice it to say we messed around at that lake with the Flock for hours. And I mean _hours_. By the time the parents were calling us in from the shore, the sun was down, and the only reason we were leaving was because the park was closing.

It was surreal, to see them standing there at the shoreline – Keira and Jason's mother, mine and Liam's mom and dad (he'd arrived a little later), and Cara, Morgan and Jake's mom and dad. Cassie's mom was absent because she – and Keira, actually – were coming home with me.

Anyway, seeing the parents standing there like that snapped everything into vivid perspective, and I realised it was time to get back to every day life. I looked down at Fang. Down, because I was perched on Iggy's back once more – and not by force. My legs were straight down and he leaned forward slightly, balancing me so that everything above mid-thigh was out of the water.

"I don't suppose you're willing to accept any help." I said. "A place to say...a meal?"

Fang, unsurprisingly, shook his head. "No way." He said, like I knew he would. "We're even putting you in danger by being here. Any more is too much."

I nodded, understanding. "Okay. But just in case you change your mind, I'll leave my address by your shirts." I said. "Well...bye, then."

"Bye." Fang shortly, then surprised me by giving me a quick, one-armed hug. I think he appreciated how quickly we accepted him – made him feel normal.

"Bye, Iggy." I said, turning to him. I didn't wait for him to do it – I took a step toward him and wrapped both my arms around him. He was frozen for a moment – probably stunned – but soon hugged me back. "It was really awesome meeting you guys." Gazzy was still in the shallows – not tall enough to come out with us – so I resolved to give him a hug on the way back out.

When I pulled back, Iggy's face was slightly red, but I wrote it off as the exposure to the sun. The others had been bidding Fang goodbye as I'd hugged Iggy and as soon as I moved away, Cassie was upon him. She hugged him – although I noticed that hers was much shorter than mine had been – and then started for shore. I followed her quickly. When we got to the shallows, we both gave Gazzy a quick hug, and grabbed the towels that my parents held out for us.

The others were splashing in behind us. The day had been long, fun, exhausting...and to top it all off, as we got into the car, everything packed up, I happened to look up. And I saw it – saw them. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy, flying. I nudged Cassie and Keira.

"Look!" I said happily, pointing upward. But they'd flown behind the treeline, and were out of sight before either one saw. "They were flying." I said. "Iggy and Fang and Gazzy. I saw them."

But, oh, if only I'd known then. The end of that day was only the _start_ of it.

* * *

"I get off on you!" Cassie yelled along with the song blasting on the stereo in my room. "Getting off on me! Give you what you want, but nothing is for free!"

"It's a give and take, the kind of love we make," Keira picked up. "When your line is crossed! I get off! I get off!"

Okay, so we listen to obnoxious music. It was currently blasting in my room. Both my parents snore loud enough to drown out a jet, so they couldn't hear. Plus, my room was on the bottom floor, and theirs was on the top.

We'd sung along to the next verse and were staring in on the chorus, when the lights flickered, the clocks blinked, and then, the music – and, in fact, all the electricity in the house – cut off. Cassie and I jumped, and Keira actually let out a small scream.

Then, it was silent. Well, except for the loud-ass rain and thunder coming from outside. When had that started? I guess we hadn't noticed it because the music had been so loud. We jumped as a bolt of lightening lit up the sky, quickly followed by a boom of thunder. Man, the storm was close. Probably right on top of us. So what did we do? We went outside to watch it, of course!

We each grabbed a popsicle from the kitchen and stepped out my front door, pressing our backs against the siding to stay under the eaves, and dry. Another flash lit up the sky and wide yard in an eerie mockery of daylight, and when it vanished, I was blinded for a moment. My Coke boxers whipped around my legs in the high wind and I sighed heavily. I loved weather like this. I looked up for a moment, then back down at the yard.

From where we were, we had a vantage point over the whole yard and driveway. We could see right down to the road. And in the next flash of lightening, several figures were visible on the road. What? Were they insane? Walking in this weather?

Another flash and they were at the end of our driveway. Another, and they were at the end of our deck. Then, I could see them without the lightening. I let out a noise of shock somewhere between a gasp and a scream and stepped out into the rain, running toward the figures.

"Oh my god!" I cried, my eyes wide and horrified.

It was them. Fang, in front. His inky black wings were still half outstretched. They'd faired pretty well, but the rest of him looked like he'd flown at top speed through every pine tree in the state. Iggy was behind him, pale grey wings encircling himself...protecting Gazzy, who he carried like a baby. Iggy's face and arms were scratched, and one particularly long cut above his eyebrow sent blood streaming into his sightless left eye.

But Gazzy was the worst. The mud on his face had been half washed away by the rain, but there were tear tracks cut in it as well. The cuts were visible even under the mud, and he was still crying, cradling his right arm with his left.

I looked to Fang, my eyes still wide. "What happened?" I demanded.

He raised his head and looked at me. I heard the door close. Cassie and Keira had gone inside. I hoped it was to get towels or a first aid kit, or my parents, or something useful. "We...we need help." Fang said, his voice hoarse.

I blinked, processing the words for a moment. Then I sidestepped Fang and approached Iggy. "Give him to me." I said quietly, and Iggy laid Gazzy, still crying, into my arms. "Come on." I continued, staring toward the house again, where lights were beginning to turn on, and an uproar was beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, well, this took forever. Sorry about the wait, guys. I've just been beyond busy. With fairs and friends, and now school, and...ack. XP **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides my own characters. All else belongs to James Patterson or its rightful owner – which may or may not be noted otherwise in the story. **

Chapter Three

I began to usher the three into the house, my eyes wide with fear and alarm. This was so weird. But I had to do it. I didn't know them, but I had to help them. To help Gazzy.

Damn maternal instinct.

I opened the door wide and ushered the three boys into the house. Clocks were flashing midnight and the dishwasher was beeping. The lights were coming on, and more things were being turned on as Cassie and Keira woke my parents.

"They're down here!" I heard Cassie say. "The youngest one's hurt bad! I think he has a broken arm or something."

Then, I heard the pounding of feet on the stairs and my mom, her hair askew; Cassie, eyes wide and her face pale; and my dad, looking flustered and confused, entered the room. "Keira!" Cassie yelled, surprisingly in charge of the situation. "Did you find the first aid kit?"

"Yeah!" Keira replied, coming into the dining room from the bathroom. "It's right here!" She lifted up a box to show us. Huh. We have a first aid kit? I guess you learn something new every day.

While I hurried the three boys forward and Cassie and Keira began cleaning their cuts and scrapes – avoiding for the moment the worst injuries (a long, bleeding cut Iggy bore on his right bicep, the rapidly swelling lump Fang had on his head, and Gazzy's broken arm) – my parents seemed to be in shock. They were staring, wide eyes at the wings on Iggy's back, which he'd yet to take in.

The boys were much cleaner now, and looked less worse for wear. But there were still their worst injuries to deal with. The cut on Iggy's arm was quickly soaking blood into his white t-shirt and Gazzy's broken arm wasn't going to get better by itself.

"What are we going to do about Gazzy's arm?" I asked, looking desperately to my two friends. "We can't just leave it like that."

"I know how to splint an arm," Cassie said, surprising even me. "I can do that while you and Keira help Iggy and Fang."

I nodded in agreement. "All right," I said. "Keira, help Fang. Get an ice pack for him." She nodded and was off. I took Iggy's arm. "Come with me," I said, leading him toward the bathroom. "Careful," I added quickly, before he moved too far forward, "There's a chair there." That was going to take some getting used to.

He nodded, his eyes searching blindly for me. I reached out obligingly and took his hand on his uninjured arm, leading him around the chair and to the other side of the table, where we entered the bathroom. I didn't close the door, but pulled out the stool that sat at the vanity.

My parents had gone back to bed by this point, seeing we had things well under control. Plus, my dad had to be up early for work, and sleep deprivation doesn't do anyone any good. As for Jake, I don't know how he's slept through all this, but he's not shown his face yet, so I'm assuming he has. Speaking of him, we'll need to borrow some of his clothes for Iggy and Fang. I don't know what we'll do for Gazzy.

"Sit," I told Iggy, and after feeling for the stool, he did. I boosted myself up on the counter and opened the medicine cabinet. Bandages and hydrogen peroxide. Exactly where I knew they'd be.

I took both out of the cabinet and grabbed a cotton ball from the glass container on the counter. "Iggy," I said, and he looked up at me, looking like he was woozy. I pressed my hand into his pale cheek – even paler now, from blood loss. "Iggy, listen to me. I'm going to bandage the cut soon, but first I need to clean it. Now, the peroxide is going to smell funny, and no one likes the smell of antiseptics, but you need to keep still and let me clean it."

"O-okay..." Iggy said, his voice sounding weak – defeated. I uncapped the bottle and dabbed some out onto the cotton ball. I could see him tensing at the smell of the antiseptic chemicals, and really, I couldn't blame him, after hearing about how he grew up in a lab. But he didn't lash out. He didn't panic. He just sat there. It was eerie.

"This might sting," I said honestly, and began dabbing the wound with the peroxide soaked cotton. He tried not to show that it hurt him. He really tried. But every now and then, he'd give a sharp intake of breath or his features would contort for a moment before smoothing out again. Once all the extra blood was gone, and I'd thrown the last cotton ball away, I released my vice grip on Iggy's wrist. I grabbed the gauze and bandages and began to wrap his arm, but he stopped me.

"We heal faster than you do," He said, his voice less strained than before. "That isn't necessary."

I shook my head and continued to wrap his arm. "No, Iggy," I said, _my_ voice becoming strained. "Just let me do this. It'll make _me_ feel better."

So he let me.

In the other room, I could hear the occasional whimper from Gazzy as Cassie bound his arm. I could hear Fang arguing with Keira about not needing the pack, but I could tell he was losing ground. Iggy just sat there, letting me bandage his arm. He didn't speak. He didn't make a sound. I had the feeling that all of them had pretty much given up fighting, for now, at least. It had to hurt – getting through so many fights practically unscathed, and then...defeated by a storm. That couldn't have been good for their self-confidence.

I don't know how long it took before all the cuts and scrapes were disinfected and bandaged, Gazzy's arm splinted, and everything cleaned up, because the clocks were still blinking. I couldn't tell if the sun was starting to come up, because it was still storming. I couldn't tell if I was tired, scared, or just in shock beyond all reason. I didn't know...but then, did it really matter? All I knew was that it was late. I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I'd been through too much.

I just wanted to go to sleep. On my new cot, out on our front porch.

We'd forced Iggy and Gazzy to take my double bed, since they were the most badly injured. Fang was on the couch. Cassie and Keira were in sleeping bags on the floor, since they'd be gone the next night. But me? I got a freaking _cot_. Ugh. We have to clean out the guest room.

My hands were twisting around and around on the hem of my night shirt in my sleeping bag. I couldn't believe everything that had happened today. Well, technically, today and yesterday. But who feels like being that technical?

I rolled onto my stomach, my eyes unable to stay open anymore because of exhaustion, and fell asleep, my dreams playing out behind my eyelids. Filled with feathers and rain and a white, ghostly looking angel that resembled Iggy, reaching out for help. Fitful sleep was something I was seriously lacking.

**You know what makes me feel bad? Not updating in forever. You know what makes me feel worse? When I don't update in forever, then write the whole chapter in five days. I feel like crap. But please keep reviewing! I love feedback. ****^_^**

**~Xandra J.**


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